


Love Is Not a Victory March

by asroarke



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Olympics, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Ice Skating, Injured!Clarke, Marriage Proposal, Mutual Pining, POV Clarke, Pining!Bellamy, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, although lets be real they start off married af, eventual married bellarke, jealous!Bellamy, pining!clarke, romantic ice skating for plot reasons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-22 10:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13761873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asroarke/pseuds/asroarke
Summary: “You could have been here four years ago,” she reminded, raising her eyebrows at him.“No, I couldn’t have. I needed to be here with you,” he replied, and Clarke felt like the breath had been knocked out of her. It wasn’t the first time he said something like that, of course. But it caught her off guard every damn time.“Was it worth the wait?”“Yes, you were,” he replied, and how could Clarke not kiss him after that?Olympics AU where a knee injury kept Bellamy and Clarke from making it to the Olympics... the first time around.





	Love Is Not a Victory March

**Author's Note:**

> Basically another Olympics fic where Bellamy "If I'm on that list, you're on that list" Blake refuses to get a new partner when Clarke gets injured because he high key loves her. Listen, you guys know I'm ice skating trash. But with the Knierim's being so damn cute last week (they were the inspiration for this fic) and Virtue and Moir's "platonic" skating, this fic was inevitable.
> 
> Just like last time, apologies in advance for anything I get wrong. Despite what I pretend, I know nothing about skating. I know I made a few mistakes last fic and this time I focus far less on the actual skating in an attempt to avoid that. 
> 
> Title taken from my favorite line of Hallelujah.

Clarke blinked her eyes open when she heard the footsteps, realizing that Bellamy was visiting her. She glanced over at her phone, checking the time. “You’re supposed to still be working with Echo,” Clarke mumbled sleepily, still feeling kind of out of it even two days after her surgery.

“We called it quits early. It wasn’t a good fit,” Bellamy said, and Clarke scrunched her face up.  She knew Bellamy wasn’t eager to get a new partner for this season, but with Clarke needing knee surgery, he didn’t really have a choice if he wanted to qualify for the Olympics. He needed to pick a new partner soon to start making up the difference between them and the other pairs skaters.

“I thought you and Echo would work well together. Her skating style is very similar to mine,” Clarke argued, but Bellamy waved her off as he pulled his laptop out of his bag. She let out a sigh, making a mental note to have this argument with him later… when she wasn’t high on pain killers.

She needed to be on her best game if she wanted to successfully argue with Bellamy Blake, a lesson she learned the very first time they met a year and a half ago. Marcus Kane had warned Clarke that Bellamy was stubborn, but stubborn didn’t seem like a strong enough word to describe him… especially not back then when the two of them fought over every little thing, from song choice to who was early on their take offs.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, his eyes just as concerned as they were when Clarke first fell.

“I’m too drugged up to feel anything,” she snorted, throwing her head back. With a sigh, Bellamy sat down on the hospital bed beside her just like he did every time he visited and opened up his laptop. “What are we watching today?” she murmured, resting her head sleepily against Bellamy’s shoulder.

“Whatever the hell you want,” he smirked, pulling up Netflix. She was grateful that he wasn’t as chatty as everyone else who visited her in the hospital. She was too out of it to be able to hold a conversation but was terrified she would fall asleep while someone was talking to her. Bellamy, on the other hand, understood. He showed up once a day bringing Netflix and snarky comments, knowing all too well that Clarke would fall asleep multiple times during his visit.

She ended up choosing Friends so she didn’t have to pay too close attention and tucked herself into Bellamy’s side. “You’re gonna have to pick a new partner soon,” Clarke mumbled, and Bellamy let out a groan. She glanced up at him, seeing him pressing his lips together like he always did when he was annoyed.

“You let me worry about that. You just worry about getting better,” he replied, keeping his eyes fixed on the screen.

A year ago, Clarke probably would have thought he would rejoice at getting a new partner. But a year ago she didn’t understand Bellamy Blake. Since then, she learned that he had a hard time connecting with people, which was why he had jumped from partner to partner in the years leading up to their pairing. And while she and Bellamy didn’t start off on the greatest foot, they were now at a place where they understood each other. It was probably scary for Bellamy to think about starting that whole process all over again with someone else after growing so close to Clarke.

She dozed off a few times during the episode… or it might have been multiple episodes. It was hard to tell just how long Bellamy was there. She barely woke up when he got up to leave, promising to come back the next day, and Clarke mumbled something about his new partner… but it was probably too garbled to even make sense.

 

* * *

 

Wells was all over her once she was taken home from the hospital, even taking time off work to keep an eye on her… which was ridiculous. Between Bellamy and her mother stopping by, she was hardly even on her own anyway.

He was in his bedroom when there was a knock on the door. “Could you get that?” he shouted, clearly forgetting Clarke’s current predicament.

“Wish I could,” she snorted, and his bedroom door swung open with an apologetic look on his face.

“I am so sorry. For a second, I totally forgot,” he said quickly as he rushed to the door, but Clarke actually found it funny. She had made peace with her condition a while ago. She knew that she would eventually get back into competition shape, but for now, she just had to rest.

“How’s she doing?” she heard Kane ask, and Clarke threw her head back to peer at him as he came into their apartment.

“She doesn’t like sitting still for long,” Wells explained as if Clarke couldn’t hear them, and she let out a groan.

“Hey, Coach,” Clarke said as Kane walked in, his hands tucked into his pockets as he smiled at her. “Miss having me on the ice already?” she teased, but he just nodded in response.

“You know I do. It’s not the same working with someone other than you and Bellamy,” he replied, and Clarke furrowed her brows at him. Last she checked, he didn’t have the time to coach both Bellamy and whoever his new partner would be along with another pair.

“I’m gonna give you two some privacy,” Wells said before nearly sprinting back into his room, and Clarke raised an eyebrow at Kane, begging for some kind of explanation.

“Bellamy isn’t getting another partner, Clarke,” Kane said, and Clarke threw her head back with a groan and clenched her eyes shut. Every time she asked Bellamy about the potential partners he would meet with, he would have a list of reasons it wouldn’t work ready for Clarke.

“There has to be someone else he hasn’t met with. I hear that Harper is looking to get into pairs skating. I could call her,” Clarke said, already reaching for her phone as Kane sat down on the couch next to her.

“Clarke, I mean he is not willing to get another partner,” he said seriously, and Clarke’s head popped up.

She wished she could say this was news to her, but she knew Bellamy. They fought viciously after she found out she needed surgery on the subject. And while Clarke was personally kind of sad at the idea of Bellamy getting a new partner, she also strongly encouraged it. After all, it was every skater’s dream to get to go to the Olympics, including Bellamy’s. Clarke didn’t have a chance to go this time, but he still did. He just had to find another partner, which given their recent success shouldn’t be too hard of a feat. There were dozens of skaters wanting to skate with Bellamy.

“You know, he was about to quit skating before you two became partners,” Kane said, and Clarke nodded along. She knew that much. He promised to try out one more partner before giving up, luckily for Clarke. And while they initially hated each other, they couldn’t deny that the chemistry they had on the ice was unlike any other. “I just think he doesn’t like the idea of skating without you.”

“I’ll try talking to him again,” she sighed, although she knew that it would likely turn into one of their famous fights. But he needed to find another partner. He was good enough to go to the Olympics, and he had worked his ass off for it. He shouldn’t have to stay behind this time just because Clarke didn’t land correctly _one time_.

 

* * *

 

Bellamy saw the fight coming, of course… which is why he started avoiding her. In fact, the next time she saw him was at Octavia’s birthday party. His logic was probably that Clarke couldn’t fight with him if she didn’t see him or if he hid behind enough witnesses. It also didn’t help that Clarke was on crutches and it was hard to catch up with him when he ducked into the kitchen to refill someone’s drink.

Eventually, Clarke gave up and plopped down on the couch. She was too damn tired to keep following after him. He was going to have to come to her. When Wells was getting ready to leave, Clarke insisted that he go on without her… if only because then she could make Bellamy drive her home, which would force him to talk to her.

As the party died down, Octavia took off with Lincoln to go check out the new gallery opening downtown. After the birthday girl was gone, the rest of their friends trickled out, leaving Bellamy without any more barriers to keep them from having this conversation. Clarke waited until she was in his truck before saying a word.

“Why did Kane tell me you aren’t getting a new partner?” Clarke asked as soon as Bellamy’s door slammed shut.

“Can we not argue today?” he groaned, as he backed out of his driveway.

“You and I talked about this before my surgery. If you don’t pick a partner soon, there is no way you’ll be ready in time to qualify for the Olympics,” she recited the same argument all over again, and Bellamy slammed his brakes when they got to the first stop sign, before glancing over at her with a tense jaw.

“Then, I’m not going to qualify for the Olympics this time around,” he said as calmly as he could, but she could tell he was frustrated that they were even having this conversation.

“Bellamy, you told me when we first met that your number one goal was to get to the Olympics, but for some reason, you’re throwing away that chance with every potential partner that you dismiss for ridiculous reasons,” Clarke huffed, but he kept his eyes fixed on the road. “You never came up with a legitimate reason why Echo didn’t work, you didn’t even give Harper a chance… why can’t you at least _try_ with them?” she snapped.

“Because they’re not you,” he yelled, and Clarke’s eyes widened. She opened her mouth to say something… anything… but no words came out. In a huff, Bellamy pulled off the main road and turned into a Walgreens parking lot. He pulled the car into park before sucking in a deep breath.

“Bellamy, talk to me,” Clarke whispered, and he rested his head against his headrest, closing his eyes gently.

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” he finally said, and Clarke reached over to grab his hand. His eyes fluttered open and he glanced over at her before letting out a sigh. “I was really starting to hate skating. Every partner I would work with made me feel like I was just going through the motions,” he explained, talking about the years after Octavia quit skating. Clarke pressed her lips together and nodded along. “But it was different when you and I paired up, even if you were a bit of a princess,” he said with a smirk, and Clarke let a giggle escape her lips at the memory of him repeatedly calling her that in practice. “When I was auditioning Echo and the others, it didn’t feel the same.”

“Maybe you just have to get used to skating with them,” Clarke offered, although she couldn’t deny the way she just _knew_ Bellamy was her partner the first time they took the ice together. Auditioning for new partners was always hard, and Clarke didn’t miss the awkwardness that went with the territory.

“You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?” he groaned, throwing his head back.

“Say what?”

He turned his head to look at her, a bit of defiance still in his eyes. He let out a sigh, before squeezing her hand. “I don’t want to skate with anyone else at the Olympics or anywhere else. Happy?”

“Bellamy—”

“No, I have thought about this. I’ve argued with Kane and Octavia over it. My mind is made up. I’d rather wait another four years to do this _with_ you, okay?” he snapped, and Clarke forced herself to nod.

After a few beats, Bellamy pulled his car out of park and resumed the drive to her and Wells’ apartment. She sat in silence, letting his decision wash over her. She had thought about it herself back when they first started having this argument weeks ago, remembering that she had a hard time wrapping her head around what she would do if she were in Bellamy’s shoes. On one hand, Clarke’s dream had always been the Olympics. On the other hand, she’d be miserable at the Olympics if she had to be there without him.

Despite being an ass half the time, he was her closest friend… other than Wells, of course. She had spent almost every spare moment in the past year and a half with him. She had been adopted into his little family as soon as Bellamy realized what a complicated relationship she had with her mother. He was a regular fixture at her apartment, to the point that Wells had his Chinese food order memorized.

The truth was going to the Olympics without Bellamy would be miserable, and Clarke would probably come to the same decision that Bellamy did.

“How soon is too soon for me to start sending you potential songs for next season’s short program?” Clarke asked, loving the way Bellamy’s lips quirked up into a smirk at the question.

“Check my Spotify playlist called ‘skating shit,’” he said as he handed his phone over to her. Clarke typed in his password, Octavia’s birthday, before pulling it up to find forty songs.

“You’ve already been thinking about it?” Clarke asked, scrolling through a few of his more questionable choices.

“Had to do something while you were napping through Friends,” he teased, and Clarke rolled her eyes.

 

* * *

 

Clarke whined when Bellamy threw the ice pack at her, hitting her in the shoulder in the process. She propped her leg up onto the coffee table, still a bit sore from her physical therapy earlier today. “Has it started yet?” Bellamy shouted from her kitchen, as Clarke flipped through the channels to find the Olympic coverage of pairs skating.

“Yeah,” Clarke shouted back, as she got the ice pack over her knee. “Your best friend Roan is taking the ice now,” Clarke teased, as Bellamy handed her a beer.

“He’s not even _that_ good,” Bellamy groaned as Clarke took a swig of her beer.

“I don’t know. He can throw that new partner of his pretty high up,” Clarke reminded, earning an even louder groan from Bellamy. Clarke did not have as strong feelings about Roan when they would meet up at competitions, but for some reason, he rubbed Bellamy the wrong way.

“I throw you _at least_ that high,” Bellamy snapped as soon as Roan and his partner started their triple twist. Clarke couldn’t help but giggle at Bellamy’s competitiveness. “Did you just miss that? He totally messed up when he was supposed to take off on that jump,” Bellamy said, pointing frantically at the screen, and Clarke burst out laughing.

“Chill, Bell. You’ve got four whole years to figure out how to kick his ass,” she teased, nudging his shoulder. He let out a breath and relaxed against the back of the couch. Since they weren’t competing for the rest of the season, she and Bellamy had far more time to relax like this. She had seen a less intense side of Bellamy in the past few months, a side that only got riled up over historical inaccuracies and Roan Kingsley being praised by the announcers in charge of Olympic coverage.

They were friends before, of course. But now it felt like they were friends because they wanted to be, not because they were also skating partners. They spent about as much time together as they would have if they were still skating every day. She worked out with Bellamy in the mornings, taking it easy, of course. They both went to cheer on the other American teams at Nationals, although they both felt weird about being there and not competing. Clarke ended up getting invited to family dinners at his house every week, giving him shit every time over how protective he was over Octavia when it came to Lincoln. And most recently, Bellamy had become a very permanent fixture in her apartment since the Olympics started.

“Don’t suppose I could talk you two into watching the hockey game, huh?” Wells asked as he stepped out of his bedroom. At the same time, Clarke and Bellamy turned around to glare at him. “Right, stupid question,” he grumbled as he made his way into the kitchen.

“Son of a bitch,” Bellamy snapped as soon as he looked back at the screen, and Clarke snorted when she realized Bellamy was reacting to Roan’s score.

“That’s better than he’s done all year,” Clarke observed, watching Bellamy throw his head back in frustration.

“Do you guys not like him?” Wells asked as he walked in, plopping down next to Clarke on the couch.

“Bellamy doesn’t for no reason at all,” Clarke explained, and Bellamy took a long sip of his beer. “I have no problem with Roan.”

“Wasn’t he the one who was flirting with you at World’s last year?” Wells asked, and Clarke burst out laughing at the memory. She didn’t even realize that’s what Roan was doing until she told Wells about the strange conversation they had when she finally got back home.

“He did what?” Bellamy snapped, sitting up straight with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh my God, you haven’t told him this story?” Wells asked with a huge grin, and Clarke sunk down in her seat with a red face. There was a reason she didn’t tell Bellamy stories like this. She could already see his overprotective side come out at the mere mention of Roan flirting with her a year ago.

As Wells told the story, Clarke finally glanced up at Bellamy who was giving her a strange look. She took a long sip of her beer and kept her eyes fixed on the screen… but she could still feel Bellamy glaring at her.

 

* * *

 

Clarke was all nerves as she laced up her skates for the first time since that nasty fall. She could tell Bellamy was just as nervous, even though he had at least been skating in the last few months.

Clarke sucked in a deep breath once she stood up, surveying the empty rink in front of her. “You’ve got this,” Bellamy whispered, and Clarke nodded. The doctor cleared her weeks ago, but it took her this long to work up the courage to actually come here. It wasn’t like this was the first time Clarke had been injured. She knew that today was going to be rough, but her muscle memory would kick in and eventually, it’ll be like nothing happened.

She glanced over at Bellamy right before she stepped onto the ice, and Bellamy held out his hand. “Together?” he asked.

“Together,” she replied as she took his hand, echoing the mantra that had gotten them through some of their tougher work outs.

The two of them stepped out onto the ice, starting their warm up laps. She and Bellamy fell in step, and for a moment, Clarke forgot that it had been months since they skated side by side. She glanced up at him, seeing a small smile on his lips.

“You _missed_ skating with me,” she teased, and he ducked his head to try and hide his smile… but it was too late. Clarke already saw it and was grinning ear to ear in response.

“Maybe a little,” he confessed, before pushing her shoulder. She nudged him back, and he grabbed her hand before she could push him any harder.

They started off easy, going through the step sequences of their old short program. It was rough at first, but after a few tries, they fell back into their normal rhythm.

When Clarke suggested they attempt a throw, there was a panicked look across Bellamy’s face. “I wouldn’t suggest it if I wasn’t ready,” she reminded, and he nodded along. That didn’t stop him from telling her they could take a break ten times before she finally bullied him into trying a throw jump.

Clarke obviously was not as clean as she used to be when she landed, but at least she landed. And the look of relief on Bellamy’s face as she stuck the landing was priceless. “Can’t believe you doubted me, Blake,” she teased as he bit his lip.

“I never doubt you, Princess,” he huffed, and Clarke raised an eyebrow at him. “Okay, I was a _little_ concerned.”

 

* * *

 

The first time she and Bellamy ran through their new short program cleanly, Clarke nearly burst into tears. Slightly out of breath, Bellamy pulled her in for a tight hug and kissed the top of her head… which was _new_ for them.

Clarke brushed it off as they skated over to the wall to talk to Kane. But Bellamy kept a hand on her back as they skated over… which threw her off. Not counting the months where they still hated each other, the two of them had pretty much always been physically affectionate with each other. It kind of went with the territory considering they were partners. But the two of them had become considerably more affectionate toward each other following her injury. An extra hug where a high five would have been, genuine praise replacing their usual teasing… she figured him kissing the top of her head was pretty normal in the progression of their closeness, but it still caught her off guard.

“Do you two have any idea how good you just looked?” Kane said with a huge grin on his face, and Clarke glanced up at Bellamy who looked relieved. “I was really worried that it was going to take you guys much longer to get back to where you were.”

Clarke rested her arms over the wall before letting out the longest relieved sigh. “Clarke’s been really focused on getting back in shape,” Bellamy said, patting Clarke on the back as he spoke.

“And you have been very patient,” Clarke added in before another compliment slipped out of Bellamy’s mouth. Bellamy ducked his head slightly, concealing the smirk that she knew was there.

“Obviously, you two have a long way to go,” Kane started in, and Clarke couldn’t help but chuckle. She knew that none of this was going to be easy. She had a lot of time to make up for and a chip on her shoulder from missing her first chance at the Olympics.

“Can you go back to complimenting us?” Bellamy smirked, and Clarke nudged him with her elbow. Kane then launched into all the different areas they could improve on, pulling out that dreaded notepad of his. Clarke had to bite her tongue to keep from groaning.

 

* * *

 

Clarke leaned against the wall, waiting for Bellamy to come out of the locker room. The hallway was buzzing with nerves from all the other pairs at this competition, which did not help Clarke’s nerves at all. She really hadn’t considered what a big deal it would be to be back after taking so much time off, but now, she was coming face to face with just how _long_ it had been.

“I was hoping I’d see you and Blake back here,” she heard Roan say, and Clarke turned to see him walking up to her. He reached out for a hug, and Clarke met him halfway with a smile.

“Missed us?” she teased, patting his shoulder as she pulled out of the hug. His partner walked past them, gesturing that she would be right back. “Is that Ontari?” Clarke asked.

“Yeah. She’s not really very social though before the competition. You know, she likes to stay focused and all that,” he sighed, resting against the wall next to her. “How’s that knee?”

“Stronger than ever,” Clarke replied, raising an eyebrow at him. She didn’t care how “friendly” Roan seemed, she knew that he also liked to play mind games.

“Princess, you ready?” she heard Bellamy say, and she turned to see him walking up to them. “Hi, Roan,” Bellamy said with a fake smile, and Clarke had to fight not to roll her eyes.

“Bellamy, long time no see,” Roan smirked, and Clarke felt Bellamy rest his hand on her back.

“We’ll catch up after,” Clarke said quickly, taking the hint that Bellamy was in no mood to talk with Roan today. She glanced up at him as they made their way down their hallway, feeling kind of weird about the fact that his hand still hadn’t left the small of her back. “You okay?”

“Of course,” he said quickly, keeping his eyes forward. “What did Roan want?” he asked with a bite to his tone.

“Just asking about my knee,” Clarke said slowly, narrowing her eyes at Bellamy in confusion. It was one thing for him to dislike Roan in private, but he was normally much better at concealing his annoyance when they were face to face.

The two of them laced up their skates in silence, listening to Kane babble on and on about how more people were falling today than he was used to. Clarke kept stealing glances at Bellamy, who was a bit more serious than she was used to. She reached over and grabbed his hand as she listened to Kane, feeling relieved when he squeezed it in response.

By the time they took the ice to warm up, Clarke could feel all the eyes on her. She had done her best not to read the speculation about their upcoming season, mainly because most people were skeptical about her recovery and their chemistry after going so long without competing. She definitely noticed Roan and Ontari watching them with interest after they landed the first of their jumps in the warm up.

“Ignore everyone else here. It’s just us,” Bellamy whispered as they got in position to try their first throw for the day. She took a deep breath, reminding herself that the two of them could do this program in their sleep.

When she stuck the landing, that smirk appeared on Bellamy’s face as he grabbed her hand… and it felt like the weight had been lifted from Clarke’s shoulders.

Kane had a few words for them right before it was their turn to go on, but it was hard to listen with Bellamy’s hand resting right on her waist. She knew this was normal for them at this point… but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly when it became normal. She couldn’t pinpoint why he started touching her as sweetly or as often as he did or when their hugs became the launching point for Bellamy to plant short kisses to her forehead.

“Together,” Clarke murmured as Bellamy pulled her in for a hug just moments before it was time for them to go on.

“Together,” he whispered back before pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head, and Clarke couldn’t help but notice just how _much_ had changed between them since they last competed together. She swallowed as they took the ice, reminding herself that they had this program down… that Bellamy had her back.

When their routine started, Clarke couldn’t help but notice that this _felt_ different too. It felt just like it did in practice except with more adrenaline, of course. But comparing it to how performing with Bellamy felt last season, this was radically different. It was comfortable. She didn’t feel like she was performing at all… everything felt natural. She wasn’t constantly panicking about their synchronization because she trusted that they were perfectly in step already. Her smiles were genuine, and Bellamy’s were too. It was _different_.

Bellamy was all smiles when they reached the end of the program with minimal hiccups, throwing his arms quickly around Clarke and planting a quick peck to her lips. It was brief. If Clarke had her eyes closed, she might have missed it. But her lips were vibrating with a strange warmth as the two of them took their bows. She stole a glance over at Bellamy who was sporting that goofy grin of his, the one he always had when he knew he nailed a performance, and that warm feeling spread to Clarke’s chest.

She blinked a few times, realizing she knew exactly _what_ had changed… but she didn’t have a damn clue as to what to do with this realization.

 

* * *

 

Falling for one’s partner wasn’t unheard of. After all, her parents were partners and they ended up married. Becoming affectionate toward one’s partner came with the territory, and sometimes, it escalated.

It took Clarke a few weeks to tell Wells about her feelings for Bellamy, to which Wells started groaning… because apparently this was not news to him. When Wells told her to just kiss Bellamy and see what happens, Clarke explained very carefully all the reasons why that could be a horrible idea. For starters, they were partners. If Clarke confessed any kind of feelings for Bellamy and he didn’t reciprocate, she would then have to skate through that awkwardness for the next few years.

“Trust me. He’s madly in love with you,” Wells snorted, and Clarke’s head popped up in confusion. “Are you kidding me? How have you not noticed?”

“He’s just a very physically affectionate person,” Clarke huffed, and Wells threw a Skittle at her from across the couch.

“Okay, let’s look at the facts. One, Bellamy had the chance to skate with Echo and go to the Olympics but chose not to because he didn’t like the idea of skating without you,” Wells said, holding up one finger. “Two, he absolutely did not need to be there for every step of your recovery yet was there for all of them anyway. Three, you two are _constantly_ touching each other. Casual friends don’t do that kind of shit, Clarke.”

“We are partners, Wells. We touch all the time on the ice. Sometimes it carries off the ice,” Clarke replied, unwilling to get her hopes up over Bellamy. If he felt the same way, well, it could be incredible. But letting herself hope for that seemed kind of cruel given her track record with love.

“Four,” Wells snapped, wiggling four fingers at her now, “the only reason he gets pissed off over Roan is because Roan is constantly flirting with you.”

“What?” Clarke snapped, but her mind was already drifting back to Bellamy’s strange behavior at their first competition… the way he kept an arm around her, the cold way he glared at Roan, the way he kept her hand in his after the competition when they were all talking in the back hallway… “Oh my God,” Clarke murmured, her eyes widening at Wells.

“Five, he is never _not_ looking at you like you’re the greatest thing that ever happened to him. Should I keep going?” Wells groaned, and Clarke threw her head back… taking this all in. _How did she not see it sooner?_

 

* * *

 

It was like Clarke was seeing for the first time. She paid closer attention to the soft way Bellamy looked at her. She realized what his check in texts really meant. She saw the way his lips always seemed to quirk up into a smile when they were talking.

After reworking the last section of their free program, Bellamy walked her out to her car like he always did and talked about Octavia’s recent elopement with Lincoln. “And now, she has derailed my entire weekend because she needs help packing up the last of her stuff,” he groaned, as Clarke tossed her bag into her trunk.

“That’s not what you’re actually mad about,” Clarke pointed out, and a huff escaped Bellamy’s lips. “Lincoln is a great guy. You like him. He loves your sister. No need to go all overprotective big brother on this one.”

Bellamy let out a sigh, tucking his hands into his pockets. She took another glance at him before closing her trunk, her mind drifting back to the way he was pulling her close to him just minutes ago on the ice…

She shook her head as she dug her keys out of her pocket. This wasn’t the time or place to deal with whatever had changed between her and Bellamy. “You wouldn’t be willing to help with the packing, would you?” he asked.

“My one weekend off from you and now you’re trying to drag me into helping your sister move out?” Clarke teased, loving the lopsided grin on Bellamy’s face.

“Come on,” he smirked, grabbing her hand and swinging it slowly. “I’ll buy you a pizza. I’ll let you choose the music we listen to.”

“Well, how can I say no to that?” she snorted, and Bellamy threw his head back in a chuckle. He started to move toward his truck, but Clarke forgot to let go of his hand. He glanced back at her and raised his eyebrows playfully, and Clarke felt that same warm feeling vibrate throughout her chest again. Before she could think better of it, she tugged him back by his hand, his eyes blinking in confusion. He was about to open his mouth to say something, but Clarke jumped up on her toes and quickly pressed a kiss to his lips.

The half of a second that Bellamy hesitated felt like minutes. But then, his hands quickly took their place cupping her cheeks as he walked her backwards until she hit her car with the back of her legs. Her arms wrapped quickly around his neck as his lips crashed against hers.

When she finally pulled away to catch her breath, she knew that one kiss from Bellamy would never be enough. A hundred wouldn’t be enough. “Clarke,” he whispered, and her eyes fluttered open to see his freckled face just an inch away.

“Yeah?”

“If you are only just now catching on, you have got to be the least observant person I’ve ever met,” he teased, and she hit him playfully on his chest as she groaned. His smirk only grew as she pushed him away in mock frustration. “Oh, no you don’t,” he teased before pulling her tight against him and capturing her lips with his.

“I hate you,” she grumbled against his lips before kissing him back. His fingers wove their way into her hair as he held her close.

“Don’t think you do,” he smirked, a little too smug for his own good. She just wanted to kiss that smug smirk right off his face… and so she did.

 

* * *

 

The first time Clarke heard her phone go off, she just rolled over and buried her face into Bellamy’s chest. The second time it went off, Bellamy started to groan. By the third time, Clarke was reaching over to Bellamy’s nightstand to grab her phone.

“Turn it off,” Bellamy groaned, as Clarke pulled up a text from Wells. Bellamy turned onto his side, burying his face into her neck as she pulled up the article Wells just texted her.

She furrowed her brows as some tabloid site loaded on her phone, trying to figure out why Wells would be texting this to her in the middle of the night. As the main photo loaded, Clarke’s eyes widened. “Bell,” she said quickly, looking at a photo of them kissing at a restaurant just hours ago. “There is literally an article about us dating.”

Bellamy tilted his head up, running his fingers through his hair as he looked over at the screen. “Well, they were bound to figure it out sooner or later,” he mumbled as Clarke kept scrolling through the article. There was all sorts of speculation that their relationship started much sooner than it actually did, citing the least reliable sources… including Roan Kingsley.

“Why aren’t you freaking out about this? Our relationship is supposed to be private,” she groaned, knowing full well that the two of them weren’t going to be able to keep this under wraps for long. The media loved a good story about pairs skaters falling for each other and would have snuffed it out eventually.

“Literally anyone who has seen us skate together already knew I was madly in love with you,” he murmured against her neck as he laid back down. Clarke put her phone down, glancing over at him with wide eyes… making sure she just heard him correctly.

The two of them had not said _that_ yet, despite Clarke wanting to for a while now. She held her breath as she glanced over at him, realizing he probably didn’t even realize what he just said to her. “Bell,” she whispered, and he pressed a sleepy kiss to her neck in response. “Did you just say you were in love with me?”

She could feel Bellamy freeze beside her, and he could probably hear her heart trying to pound itself out of its chest. When he finally leaned back to look at her, there was a slight panic in his eyes.

He narrowed his brown eyes at her, clearly trying to read her facial expressions to figure out how she felt about what he definitely did just say. “Yes,” he finally said, a nervous question in his eyes as he gazed back at Clarke.

But that questioning look left his eyes as soon as she pushed herself forward and pressed her lips against his. She pushed him onto his back, peppering kisses all over those freckles. Even in the dark, he could probably see her grinning ear to ear as she kept attacking his face with frantic kisses. “Clarke,” he whispered, raising his eyebrows. Clarke blinked a few times before realizing what she forgot.

“Oh, I’m in love with you too,” she grinned, and Bellamy surged forward with the sweetest smile on his face before pressing a slow kiss to her lips.

 

* * *

 

Clarke blinked a few times, not sure she heard that score correctly. Kane was wrapping his arms tightly around her and Bellamy, whispering praise. Her eyes met Bellamy’s as Kane pulled away, his smug smirk telling her what her brain refused to accept… _the two of them just kicked Roan and Ontari’s asses at Nationals_.

She glanced over at where Ontari and Roan were sitting, Roan’s eyebrows raised in shock. Clarke had heard rumors that he had been struggling in practices lately, especially coming off yet another ankle injury. It didn’t really show in his performance though, so he probably thought he and Ontari had it in the bag like he always did. His eyes met Clarke’s for a moment, narrowing almost in amusement.

“Someone’s pissed,” Bellamy whispered, and Clarke glanced up at him to catch another glimpse of that smug smirk.

“Just how long have you been waiting for this moment?” she teased, and his arm wrapped around her waist as he chuckled.

“Longer than I’d like to admit,” he whispered, before pressing a slow kiss to her cheek. Clarke’s eyes fluttered shut at the sensation, letting herself enjoy this moment before getting hounded by the press. Ever since the news caught on to their relationship, the attention they received doubled. And now that they were serious threats again, that attention would increase even more. After all, no one expected them to make a come back after taking a whole season off… well, no one except Clarke and Bellamy.

When she glanced back over at Roan, she saw that Kane was talking with him now. “Alright, do you think they are going to actually ask us about skating, or is it all going to be not so subtle questions about if we’re getting married?” Clarke teased, and Bellamy ducked his head to hide his sweet grin.

“I think they’ll try to ask real questions, but the second I say anything about how wonderful you are, we’ll get questions about if we are going to make your children become skaters too,” he teased, and Clarke tried to ignore the way her stomach fluttered at him just casually mentioning their _children_. It wasn’t something the two of them had specifically talked about. They had an unspoken understanding that all the major decisions like that would be brought up after the Olympics. But she knew he was thinking about it, and she knew from how he took care of Octavia that he would make such a great dad.

It was hard not to think about it when they would volunteer to run kid’s skating clinics and she saw just how _good_ he was with the kids. Or when kids would come up to them after competitions saying that they wanted to be figure skaters too and Bellamy’s face would just light up as he spoke with them about it.

“Please tell me you have a response planned for when we inevitably do get that question,” Clarke smirked.

“I think I’m gonna go with the fact that I need to convince you to marry me first,” he joked.

“That’s not exactly hard to do. I’d marry you tomorrow if you asked,” she said without thinking. When Bellamy didn’t say anything in response, she glanced over at him to see his eyes widened back at her. She swallowed, realizing just what a _serious_ statement she just made. The two of them had definitely not talked about that before.

Clarke opened her mouth to say something, but Kane came over before she could say anything. “You two have some interviews,” Kane said, but Clarke could feel Bellamy’s intense gaze still on her.

She nodded, pushing herself to stand up. Bellamy took her hand as they walked over to the press. Luckily, the interviewers did most of the talking. A lot of comments about their performance this season and a question here and there about how much their free program had developed in the past few months. When the questions inevitably turned to being about their romantic relationship, she and Bellamy ended up stuttering through their responses.

Clarke nearly ran back to the locker room when the interview was over, trying to figure out how to unsay what she just told Bellamy. But it wasn’t like she didn’t mean it. She loved Bellamy. He was her person for everything. He was her best friend, she trusted him more than anyone else, and she couldn’t imagine a future where she didn’t end up married to him.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Bellamy said, jogging after her, and Clarke threw her head back. He grabbed her hand, tugging her down one of the back hallways. “We need to talk about what you just said.”

“Can we just pretend I didn’t say anything?” Clarke asked, leaning against the brick wall.

“That depends,” he replied, stepping toward her. “Did you mean what you said?”

Clarke blinked a few times as she looked back at him. His eyes weren’t panicked, they were nervous… and maybe a little bit hopeful. “Yes,” she admitted, praying that confession wouldn’t scare him away. When his lips started to quirk upward into a smile, Clarke felt like the entire world froze just for them.

“So, if I asked you right now if you would marry me, you would say yes?” he whispered, taking a half step forward so there was no more space between them.

“Yes,” Clarke said, her eyes locking with Bellamy’s.

“If I told you that you’re everything to me and I want to spend my entire life with you, you would be okay with that?”

“Yes,” she grinned, and Bellamy reached up to cup her cheek, his grin growing wider by the second.

“If I said that I couldn’t wait a second longer to be married to you, would you marry me tomorrow?” he murmured, his lips grazing hers as he spoke.

“Yes,” she confessed, her heart warming at the idea of marrying Bellamy Blake. After all, he was the one who stood by her through the worst of it, who picked her up, who pushed her, who held her, who loved her… He was it for her, plain and simple.

“Clarke Griffin,” he whispered, and she felt like her heart was about to give out. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she said, barely getting the word out before his lips were on hers. His entire body pressed into hers, the weight a beautiful reassurance that he was in fact hers, and she was his.

He kissed her so desperately, as if he couldn’t get close enough to her. She found her hands clinging to his shoulders or tugging at his hair, desperate to show him just how much she wanted, needed, and _loved_ him.

 

* * *

 

Octavia made sure they didn’t go through with their plan to get married _immediately_. She insisted that she needed months to throw them a wedding, to which Bellamy countered with two weeks. One month was agreed upon, each day of it feeling longer than the last.

It was a small ceremony, only a handful of people in attendance. Clarke’s mom, Wells, Kane, Octavia, Lincoln, and Miller… all the people that mattered. Her mom and Octavia decorated Bellamy and Clarke’s backyard beautifully, and when Wells began walking her down the aisle, Clarke was amazed that she wasn’t even a little bit nervous.

After all, Bellamy was standing at the end waiting for her, just like he always was. He was already her partner in every sense of the word. This was just a celebration of that fact. Just another journey she was going on with the man she loved.

His smile was as bright as always as she and Wells approached, and she knew her face mirrored his. She barely heard the minister as he spoke, her eyes fixed on Bellamy.

He held his hand out to her, and Clarke squeezed it immediately. “Together,” he whispered so softly that only she could hear him, her heart warming at that beautiful word.

“Together,” she murmured back. She never wanted to stop saying that perfect word. And she never wanted to stop hearing it.

 

* * *

 

The year of the Olympics, Kane decided it was time to bring on another coach. The two of them weren’t about to argue over getting another coach. They could use as much help as they could get if they wanted a fighting chance at the Olympics.

They just had no idea it was going to be _Roan Kingsley_. His retirement didn’t exactly come out of nowhere, but Bellamy and Clarke fully expected to never see him again. And yet, here he was nagging them about the cleanliness of their lifts.

“This is why you should have been nicer to him at competitions,” Clarke teased as they got ready to do another run through of their free program, which was probably her favorite program the two of them had ever done. It was softer than their usual programs, an instrumental version of Hallelujah that made the two of them incredibly emotional out on the ice.

“He was always flirting with you. I couldn’t help it,” he groaned, and Clarke smirked at his past jealousy.

“I was not!” Roan shouted from by the wall, and Clarke burst out laughing at Bellamy’s annoyed face.

“Oh, come on,” Bellamy groaned, and Clarke couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the smug smirk on Roan’s lips.

“Blake, I was not trying to steal your wife. I was trying to steal your skating partner. There is a difference,” Roan corrected.

“Oh, well that distinction makes me feel a whole lot better,” Bellamy snorted, and Clarke started skating to the wall in a huff. She reached over and grabbed her water bottle, knowing that this was going to take a while.

“It’s not like I succeeded. But can you blame me? Clarke could skate circles around Ontari,” Roan replied, as Bellamy skated toward him.

“He is not wrong,” Clarke offered, watching Bellamy’s tense jaw ease up just a little.

Then, Roan went back into ranting about what was wrong with their final lift sequence, and Clarke could see Bellamy’s nose flare up angrily.

“Okay, pause,” Clarke snapped, now skating in front of Bellamy so she was in between the two of them. “Bellamy, Roan is a gold medalist, and we could really use his insight if we want to achieve the same thing,” Clarke started, before turning to look at Roan’s smug face. “Roan, you are kind of an arrogant dick, which makes taking feedback from you difficult. Please refrain from talking down to us. Are we all good now?”

 

* * *

 

Clarke was on the verge of tears when Bellamy pulled her up from the death spiral. Their free program was going so well at Nationals, but the competition was fierce all season. Regardless of how they did, though, this was their greatest performance. She could feel it with every step.

She rested her head against Bellamy’s chest once the song ended, breathlessly trying to recover from their best performance. Bellamy lifted up her hand, kissing her wrist right over the tattoo she had gotten earlier this season to match his. Both of their tattoos said “Together,” Clarke’s in Bellamy’s handwriting and Bellamy’s in Clarke’s handwriting.

After a beat, the two of them broke apart to take their bows. Clarke had to wipe away her tears as they began to skate off the ice, but she couldn’t help but smile when she felt Bellamy’s arms wrap around her waist. “I love you so much, Princess,” he whispered right into her ear, and her grin grew even larger at his words.

She glanced back at him, catching him practically beaming at her. “I love you too, Bell,” she said, before the two of them stepped off the ice. Kane pulled both of them in for a hug, his eyes tearful just like theirs. When Clarke got to Roan, he had a smug look on his face… like he always seemed to.

“Got something to say, Kingsley?” Clarke asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Just that I expect the two of you up bright and early tomorrow so we can tweak a few things for the Olympics,” he said calmly, and Clarke couldn’t help but grin at the fact that this was probably the closest they would ever get to a compliment from him.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There are still two more pairs left to skate,” Bellamy said, his hand resting on Clarke’s back.

“Spoken like someone who hasn’t seen their technical score yet,” Roan smirked, and Clarke glanced over to see what he was talking about. “There isn’t a pair in this building who can beat that.”

Clarke’s lips parted when she saw it. She glanced back at Bellamy, the realization starting to wash over his face too. _They were going to the Olympics_.

 

* * *

 

“And how many medals are you up for this time?” Clarke asked, and a chuckle escaped Bellamy’s lips.

“Five, but who is counting?” Raven smirked, pulling on her gloves.

“You and literally everyone else,” Bellamy teased, before someone in the front shouted that it was time for them to start walking. She glanced up at Bellamy, grinning in excitement. She had dreamed about walking in the Opening Ceremony her entire life, and she was finally doing it. She and Bellamy were both here at the Olympics… and it was everything they had ever wanted.

The noise inside the stadium was deafening. She couldn’t figure out where to look because there was just so much going on around them. She stayed tucked into Bellamy’s side, using her left hand to wave.

“We’re actually here,” Bellamy murmured right into her ear so she could actually hear him. Clarke had thought they would be used to the idea of being here by now. After all, the past month had been interview after interview about the Olympics. They had to shoot promo videos for NBC, which were all about their “story” … so basically a five-minute-long video of Bellamy and Clarke telling the camera how they fell in love with an occasional clip of them skating. It was easily the cheesiest thing Clarke had ever seen, and it definitely did not capture the intensity of what they felt for each other. But it was the kind of video that would get people at home rooting for them. They were the one married couple competing at the Olympics, which Jasper Jordan said made them the team mom and dad.

When they finished their lap and took their seats, Clarke leaned into Bellamy. “You could have been here four years ago,” she reminded, raising her eyebrows at him.

“No, I couldn’t have. I needed to be here with you,” he replied, and Clarke felt like the breath had been knocked out of her. It wasn’t the first time he said something like that, of course. But it caught her off guard every damn time.

“Was it worth the wait?”

“Yes, you were,” he replied, and how could Clarke not kiss him after that?

 

* * *

 

They were in a good place going into their free program. Their short program last night put them in second place… and it was finally hitting Clarke. This was _real_.

“It’s just you and me here,” Bellamy whispered, and Clarke’s eyes fluttered shut at the memory of their first competition following her injury… that same day that Bellamy kissed her.

One of his hands was on her hip, holding her close against him as they waited to take the ice. His other hand reached down to grab hers, his thumb tracing over her “Together” tattoo. “Thank you,” she murmured, leaning back to press a quick kiss to his cheek. His smile could have lit up the entire arena as far as she was concerned.

She had to take a deep breath when they were told to step onto the ice. She was reluctant to let go of Bellamy’s hand as he took his position across from her. Once she was in position, she let herself glance up at him. She remembered exactly where they were four years ago when they watched the other pairs take Olympic ice. She remembered how emphatic Bellamy was that he wouldn’t want to be here without her. She remembered all the times she broke down crying because she felt like she was letting him down, all the times he picked her back up and believed in her.

The Olympics had always been the dream, but it couldn’t compare to the man standing across from her now. The Olympics was just two nights of skating, but Bellamy Blake was her constant, her love, her partner, her _everything_.

Her heart skipped a beat as the music started and they took their first steps toward each other. As they made their way across the ice, getting prepared for their opening twist, she looked back at her husband. It really was just the two of them here… and she wouldn’t have wanted this any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> Perhaps the real Olympics were the figure skating Bellarke AU's we wrote along the way...
> 
> anyway, I'm on tumblr and twitter as @asroarke. come yell at me if you want, I promise I'm fun. and as always, comments and kudos are always appreciated.


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